Arnold Schwarzenegger puts movie comeback on hold

The boy's mother was only at home on weekends until recently, a neighbor says

The boy, now 13, lives in Bakersfield, California, with his mother

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger has placed his movie comeback on hold "until further notice" to focus "on personal matters," the lawyer for the former California governor said Thursday.

The announcement comes two days after the revelation that Schwarzenegger fathered a child with his former housekeeper.

It comes on the same day comic book creator Stan Lee's company announced it would stop plans to produce "The Governator," a children's comic book and TV show based on Schwarnegger's life.

"In light of recent events, A Squared Entertainment, POW, Stan Lee Comics, and Archie Comics, have halted production," the statement said. The statement was a revision from an earlier one that said the companies "have chosen to not go forward with the Governator project."

Schwarzenegger's entertainment lawyer, Patrick Knapp, said in a statement provided to CNN that all plans for new films are suspended.

"At the request of Arnold Schwarzenegger we asked Creative Artists Agency to inform all his motion picture projects currently under way or being negotiated to stop planning until further notice," Knapp said.

Schwarzenegger had been scheduled to start production in August on his first movie since leaving the governor's office in January.

"Governor Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines," Knapp said. "This includes Cry Macho, the Terminator franchise and other projects under consideration."

Schwarzenegger, who was once one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, appeared on his way to renewing a film career that was interrupted by his political career. The comeback plans will resume "when Governor Schwarzenegger decides," Knapp said.

The statement did not indicate how Schwarzenegger would focus on his "personal matters," or if they included meeting with the son who he only publicly acknowledged this week.

Schwarzenegger acknowledged Tuesday that he fathered a child "over a decade ago," but he did not identify the mother.

The New York Times, citing two friends of the family, reported that the mother is Mildred Patricia Baena, who worked for two decades as housekeeper for the Schwarzenegger family.

Neither Baena nor her son have been seen at their home in Bakersfield, California, since the scandal became public.

The son is "a wonderful, very respectful, very intelligent young man," according to a neighbor who said she often spoke to him.

"He's very well-centered and he's just not your everyday kid," said Marty Steelman, who lives next door to the home that the boy and his mother moved into last summer.

A real estate agent told her Schwarzenegger helped purchase the house "for a staff member that was retiring," Steelman said in a CNN interview Thursday.

Property records indicate that Baena took out a mortgage when she bought the house last June.

The boy, now 13, was born less than a week after Maria Shriver gave birth to another Schwarzenegger son, Christopher, according to birth records obtained Wednesday by CNN.

CNN is not identifying the child.

"The son is a wonderful, very respectful, very intelligent young man," Steelman said. "He's got great manners."

The boy would stop by her home and chat, once to sell something for a fundraiser for his middle school, she said. He told her husband that he is interested in martial arts, she said.

The child often played basketball in his back yard, she said. He knocked on her door several times to retrieve the ball after it bounced over the fence into her yard, she said.

"He's just a really nice kid," Steelman said. "If you had the choice of picking a child for mentoring, he would be the type of child that you would take on immediately and enjoy every minute of it."

The house, which sits on a cul-de-sac in an upscale neighborhood of Bakersfield, has a swimming pool in the back yard, she said.

Although the family moved in last summer, the mother was there only on weekends until about eight weeks ago, Steelman said. She told her she was commuting to a job in Los Angeles, which is more than 100 miles from Bakersfield, she said.

The birth certificate listed the father as the man Baena was married to at the time. However, divorce papers obtained by CNN say the couple separated less than three weeks after the October 2, 1997, birth. She is a 50-year-old native of Guatemala, according to the document.

The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the story early Tuesday, quoted the woman as saying she recently retired "on good terms" with the couple after working for them for 20 years.

Schwarzenegger has provided support for the child since birth, one source told CNN.

The revelation that Schwarzenegger fathered a child outside his marriage came a week after Schwarzenegger and Shriver jointly announced they were "amicably separating." No reason for their split was given at the time.

The developments have been "very hard" for Schwarzenegger, and the actor "is doing everything he can to take full responsibility to take all of the spotlight off his children and wife," a source close to Schwarzenegger told CNN.

"He realizes the terrible mistake he made and has a lot of work to do to repair his relationship with his family," the source said, adding that Schwarzenegger has asked people around him to not talk about his relationship with his wife and their four children, who range in age from 13 to 21.

"He's in touch with his family and talked to them last night and apologized to them," the source said Tuesday, noting that Maria Shriver, his wife of 25 years, was among the family members he spoke with.

Shriver, meanwhile, joined talk show legend Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday for a taping of the Oprah Surprise Spectacular -- part of the final episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" scheduled to air next week.

As she walked onstage with longtime Oprah confidant Gayle King, thousands in Chicago's United Center jumped to their feet and erupted in applause.

Earlier Tuesday, Shriver released a written statement describing "a painful and heartbreaking time."

"As a mother, my concern is for the children," she said. "I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."

A source close to Shriver said Tuesday that the former NBC anchor and her children were "circling the wagons and are working through" the family crisis.

Schwarzenegger has issued a statement saying he told his wife about the child after he left the governor's office in January.

"I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family," he said. "There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry."

Schwarzenegger's four children were told about their sibling only recently, with Shriver "methodically" talking to them, the source said. They were "well prepared" before it became public, the source said.

Schwarzenegger, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Austria who gained fame as the youngest winner of the Mr. Universe bodybuilding contest, was governor until January. He has been busy in recent months reviving his acting career and signing movie deals -- including plans for another installment of his "Terminator" series.